Blade dispensing device



Nov. 6, 1956 R. L. SINCLAIR BLADE DISPENSING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet FiledSept. 16, 1950 (@ENTOQ. BY wa Nov. 6, 1956 R. L. SINCLAIR BLADEDISPENSING DEVICE Filed Sept. 16, 1950 1, III/III]! 2 Sheets-Sheet 2IzzzJercZof nited States Patent "nice 2,769,569 Patented Nov. 6, 1956BLADE DISPENSING DEVICE Robert L. Sinclair, Dedham, Mass., 'assignor toThe Gillette Company, a corporation of Delaware Application September16, 1950, Serial No. 185,188

Claims. (Cl. 221-37) This invention comprises a new and improveddispensing device for safety razor blades and the like. The object ofthe invention is to provide a dispensing magazine of compact structure,convenient in operation'for the user and capable of fully protecting andsafeguarding a stack of thin, flexible blades packed therein withoutother covering envelope. A further object of the invention is to providea commercially satisfactory solution to the problem of separating andfeeding from a stack sharp edged blades of a thickness in the order of.004 to .007 inch.

To these ends, in accordance with the various aspects of the invention,my improved dispensing device comprises a casing having atop opening oraperture. Within this casing will be found a stack of flexible andresilient blades disposed in alternately staggered and overlappedrelation forming two overlapping series of blades extending oppositelyin the casing. Means are provided for bowing the central portion of thisstack of blades toward the opening in the top of the casing and may takethe form of transverse bars which are longitudinally ofiset within thecasing. A slide mounted for reciprocal movement relative to the casingcloses the top opening to normally restrain the uppermost blade frompassing therethrough. The slide is provided with a Window which may bebrought into register with successive restrained blade ends permittingthem to pass through the top opening and the slide window so that theywill extend beyond the dispensing device. in this extended position,each successive blade may be readily and easily removed therefrom in asafe and easy manner.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood andappreciated from the following description of a preferred embodimentthereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in theaccompanying drawings of which:

Fig. l is a plan view of the magazine;

Fig. 2 is a corresponding end view;

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the top or cover portion of the magazine;

Fig. 4- is a sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view in longitudinal section on line 55 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a view in cross section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the bottom or tray portion;

Fig. 8 is a view in elevation of the cover slide;

Fig. 9 is a view in side elevation corresponding to Fig. 7;

Fig. 10 is a view of the magazine in side elevation, corresponding toFig. 1;

Figs. 11l3 are views in longitudinal section on a larger scale, showingconsecutive positions of the blades as the slide is moved; and

Fig. 14 is a corresponding sectional view of a magazine of modifiedconstruction.

The dispensing magazine herein illustrated comprises a bottom section ortray 10 preferably molded of a resinous plastic composition but it maybe constructed of any suitable material. It is curved upwardly at bothends, as shown in Fig. 9, and provided at its opposite edges withgrooves or slots for receiving corresponding tongues formed in the wallsof the cover portion. It is provided centrally and longitudinally with anarrow upstanding stud ll and with a pair of transverse ribs 12 spacedapproximately half-way between the center and ends of the tray 10 andprojecting to about half the height of the central stud 11. The ribs 12serve as bladefiexing members and may not necessarily take the formillustrated so long as they are shaped to carry out the flexingfunction, as will presently appear. The tray is also provided at eachend with a pair of end stop lugs 13 providing shoulders which serve tolocate the contained blades, as indicated in Figs. 1113 with theiroverlapping ends beneath the opening 16.

The cover or top section 15 of the magazine corresponds in contour tothe tray 10 and has parallel side walls provided with tongues whichinterlock with the grooves in the edges of the tray. The top is providedwith a centrally disposed opening or aperture 36 which extends for thefull width of the magazine. This section is also provided with a pair ofdownwardly projecting transverse ribs 17 which also serve asblade-flexing members and cooperate with the ribs 12 of the tray.Mounted on the top 15 is a cover slide 18 having inturned side edgesdesigned to slide in grooves provided for that purpose in the side wallsof the cover section, as well shown in Fig. 6. The cover slide is notsolid, but provided centrally with a window 19 which is appro"' atelyone-third of the width of the opening 16. This window, as shown in Figs.1 and 11, is initially located symmetrically above the upstanding bladelocating stud ll.

Contained within the enclosure of the ma azine is a stack of thinflexible sharp double-edged blades 20 arranged in two overlappingseries, as best shown in Figs. 11-13. These blades are longitudinallyslotted to receive with clearance the central stud 11 which is alsolongitudinally disposed and thus centers the blade stack and positivelyholds the sharpened edges of the blades out of contact with the walls ofthe enclosure and at the same time permits the blades to move freelyupwardly when permitted to do so. The blades are arranged inlongitudinally staggered relation; that is to say, the individual bladesof the left-hand series, as shown in Fig. 11, alternate in overlappingrelation with the individual blades of the right-hand series. Thetransverse ribs 12 and 17 cooperate to hex the outer ends of the bladesof each series downwardly so that they abut the stop lugs 13. Theuppermost blade marked 20 in Fig. 11 is flexed to engage at its upperend against the cover slide 18 when the latter occupies its initialcentrally disposed position. The blade 20 is thus biased against thecover and tends always to spring into a straightened position whenpermitted to do so by movement of the cover slide toward the right tosome such position as that indicated in Fig. 12. In this position theblade 20' is still somewhat confined by its engagement with one 'mwardlydeflected edge of the window 19. However, as the cover slide is nowmoved toward the left, the blade 20. is freed more and more and finallyis permitted to assume an unflexed position in which it extends asubstantial distance above the top of the magazine Where it may beconveniently grasped by the user, as shown in Fig. 13.

It will be seen that while the uppermost blade 20' is initially confinedby engaging the cover slide at a point offset or out of line with thewindow 19, as shown in Fig. 11, it in turn serves to lie); the nextunderlying blade which is, in fact, the uppermost blade of the other orright-hand series. Each blade below this blade serves to flex the nextunderlying blade so that all the blades of both series, except thesingle blade in actual contact with the cover slide 18, are maintainedin similar flexed position with their-ends overlapping, as alreadyexplained. As one blade is released and'removed, the next underlyingblade springs into contact with the cover slide and remains inreadiness'for release when the slide is moved in the opposite direction.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 14 the blades 20are shown as being flexed over a convex leaf spring 32 by cross bars 31,these being located somewhat nearer the ends of the magazine than theribs 17 which perform their function in the construction of Figs; l113.In the construction of Fig. 14 the resiliency of the spring 32supplements the resiliency of the blades themselves in imparting astraightening tendency thereto. In both of the illustrated embodimentsof the invention it will be seen that the stop lugs 13'are so located inthe bottom of themagazine enclosure as to engage the outer end of eachseries of blades and gauge the 1 inner ends of the blades properly topass through the aperture or window in the cover of the magazine whenthe blades are permitted to straighten from their initial biasedcondition.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail illustrativeembodiments thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure by LettersPatent:

1. A blade-dispensing device comprising a casing having a top opening, astack of flexible and resilient blades disposed in said casing inalternately staggered and overlapped relation, means for bowing thecentral portion of said stack of blades towards said top opening to urgean end of the uppermost blade into said top opening, and a slide mountedfor reciprocable movement relative to said casing and closing said topopening, said slide having a window wider than the width of the blades,said slide normally restraining the uppermost blade end and beingreciprocable between alternate positions in which its window is inregister with successive restrained blade ends to permit said successiveblade 7 ends to extend through said top opening and said window andbeyond the dispensing device for manual removal ofthe blades therefrom.

2. A blade-dispensing device comprising a casing having a top. opening,a stack of flexible and resilient blades disposed in said casing inalternately staggered and overlapped relation, means for bowing thecentral portion of said stack of blades towards said top opening to urgean end of the uppermost blade into said top opening, and a slide mountedfor reciprocable movement on said casing and above said top opening,said slide normally restraining the uppermost blade end, said slidehaving a window wider than the Width of said blades with twoblade-releasing edges for alternately permitting successive blade endsto extend through said top opening and said window and beyond thedispensing device for manual removal of blades therefrom as the slide isreciprocated between positions in which its window is 'in registerwiththe restrained ends of the alternately staggered blades.

3. A blade-dispensing device comprising a casing having a top opening, astack of flexible and resilient blades disposed in said casing inalternately staggered 4 most blade into said top opening, and a slidemounted for reciprocable movement on said casing and above said topopening, said slide normally restraining the uppermost blade end, saidslide having a window wider than the width of said blades with twoblade-releasing edges for alternately permitting successive blade endsto extend through said top opening andsaid window and beyond thedispensing device for manual removal of blades therefrom as the slide isreciprocated betweenpositions in which its window is in register withthe restrained ends of the alternately staggered blades.

4. A blade-dispensing device comprising a casing having a top opening, astack of flexibleand resilient blades disposed in said casing inalternately staggered and overlapped relation, means for bowing thecentral portion of said stack of blades towards said top opening to urgean end of the uppermost blade into said top opening, a slide mounted forreciprocable movement relative to said casing and closing said topopening,

said slide having a window wider than the width of said blades, saidslide normally restraining the uppermost blade end and beingreciprocable between alternate positions in which its window is inregister with successive restrained blade ends to permit said successiveblade ends to extend through said top opening and said window and beyondthe dispensing device for manual removal of the blades therefrom, andstops limiting the recipro- 7 cable movement of said slide to endpositions wherein said window is in register with the restrained bladeends;

5. A blade-dispensing device comprising a casing having a topopening,.a' stack of flexible and resilient blades disposed in saidcasing in alternately staggered and overlapped relation, means forbowing the central portion of said stack of blades towards said topopening to urge an end of the uppermost blade into said top opening, anda slide mounted for reciprocable movement on said casing and above saidtop opening, said slide normally restraining the uppermost blade end,said slide having 'a Window wider than the width of said blades with twoblade-releasing edges spaced apart a distance approximately /3 thedistance of said top opening in a direction longitudinally of thecasing, said bladerele'asing edges alternately permitting successiveblade ends to extend through said top opening and said Window, andbeyond the dispensing device for manual removal of blades therefrom asthe slide is reciprocated between positions in which its window is inregister with the restrained ends of the alternately staggered blades. 7

References Cited in the fileof this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 297,217Abbott Apr. 22, 1884 540,706 Watson June 11, 1895 909,110 ONeil Jan; 5,1909 934,220 Sayles Sept. 14, 1909 1,092,067 Marx Mar. 31, 19141,377,379 Williams May 10, 1921 1,377,576 Hammerle ,May 10, 19211,759,980 Ecker May 27, 1930 1,796,262 Gaisman Mar. 10, 1931. 2,086,210Brown July 6, 1937 2,298,594 Rueger Oct. 13, 1942 2,359,807 Testi Oct.10, 1944 2,431,523 Tuerff et al. Nov. 25,1947 2,542,510 Gray Feb. 20,1951 2,674,368 Bailey Apr. 6, 1954 2,675,909 Auerbach Apr. 20, 1954

